


Rundown

by misbehavingvigilante



Series: Tales Inspired by the Discord Year 2 [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pre-Slash, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21978829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbehavingvigilante/pseuds/misbehavingvigilante
Summary: In which Tony is squatting in a rundown building and hears rumors a bearded man that's dangerous around the same area as him.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tales Inspired by the Discord Year 2 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561894
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	Rundown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nagth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagth/gifts).



> For Fan~! 
> 
> The prompt: 'College au. Tony lives in a rundown building since Howard kicked him out to save the rest of the money he still has for his tuition. There's a rumor around about a bearded man that lives around there that everyone avoids (tony has only seen him from afar and he looks kind of unkempt and taciturn). Then one day Tony gets into trouble with some people in the street and bearded man saves. Or college Tony meets sad bearded Steve'

His standards as a former rich kid are probably notorious high, but nonetheless Tony still feels like he has a right to complain about his circumstances. Even if, dad would probably take him back in if Tony apologized, and if Tony agreed to go down the path that he wanted to but Tony was very, very stubborn. If he had to rough it for a few months while he finished his degree then he did. It was as simple as that even if he was still cold.

Living in a rundown building had its cons, the lack of heat for one was pressing especially with how cold Massachusetts winters could get, but it had been mostly intact, few broken windows and even less trampled doors to let the cold air or animals in so he made do. He knew how to set shit on fire rather well, so while he had fire thus a heat source, it really couldn’t compare to the modern day amenities that he was used to.

But where else was he supposed to squat rent free in Massachusetts at? He couldn’t afford anything else, he wasn’t going to let his father take away his college education, the one thing that would no doubt assure these circumstances were temporary rather than something permanent.

Still, he had new worries living like this. So far he hadn’t run into much trouble, but there had been others wizened by their experiences of homelessness or in positions like him that had given him tips and tricks. There wasn’t much to go around, but the information was vital and necessary when before he never would have thought he’d have need of it.

There was one thing they warned about without hesitation. 

There was a bearded man, with a build and a look about him that he was a vet, while no one had known him to have done anything, everyone was keeping their distance. He looked like a man that would bring trouble.

Naturally, as a fellow troublemaker, Tony was curious. Trouble was his middle name after all, so he was very curious about the rumors.

He wondered where they had come from, and how true they all were, and all things he shouldn’t be doing. Maybe if his circumstances were different, he wouldn’t have been dealing with this but as of right now he’s done all the homework he has, having recently returned from the library because that was the best place to do work. It’s not like he needed any money for it unlike coffee shops that while seduced him with the scent of coffee, often expected you to pay for the right of lounging around for hours at a time. It was with a heavy heart that he had to cut back on his caffeine intake considerably, but there was no way around it, his indulgences in coffee, delicious coffee were an expense he couldn’t afford and he really wanted to graduate.

If the boredom didn’t kill him first that was, being here in his place while warm with a still lit fire almost meant he was really without a lot of things to do. The boredom was probably one of the worst part of his new life circumstances. Before he had never really been bored for that long, while he might have loudly complained there was always things he could, always.

Now he had a lack of choice, and he couldn’t stay in coffee shops or libraries all the time.

So it became one of his little joys of life finding out what he could about the bearded man with a mysterious past but that everyone seemed to mark as ex-military. From what he had seen, from a distance, mind you he had good posture, supposedly the military was really stringent about that if you served. There was also his build, the rumors of how well-built he was? Well, that hadn’t been a lie at all, if anything Tony felt like they hadn’t really referenced them nearly enough, that they’d done a disservice in not painting a truer picture. The constant awareness even when Tony broke out the poached pair of binoculars too, that seemingly always those eyes would pin him regardless of direction or distance.

Yeah, there may have been some truth about this being a dangerous man but Tony was bored, and he needed to be entertained because it kept him from considering his shitty circumstances if only for a moment.

Things stay the same for a while. Tony goes to school, and he continues to live in a rundown building and he figures out what he can about the mysterious bearded dude in his downtime. The problem is the new routine gets him lured into a false sense of security, so just when he adjusts, just when he thinks things are settling down, naturally they get worse.

The thing is while he’s not really rich per se anymore, but no doubt will again be very soon, he still has the markers of a rich person with how he acts and speaks, and a few weeks squatting doesn’t really change that. That and he has a recognizable face thanks to the publicity, so maybe it was less that he had run into bad luck, and more that for some reason, he just hadn’t had any problems yet by some kindness of fate.

“Aren’t you that Stark kid?” Someone asks him, and there’s something in that tone that Tony doesn’t like in the get go, so he keeps an air of indifference around him as if he didn’t hear despite the fact the wind isn’t that loud today and the cars aren’t honking up a song of symphony with the traffic endemic to these parts.

Ignoring as it turns out is the wrong way to handle this, and he’s pulled back his down-turned MIT hoodie even his ass collides with the still slick sidewalks.

He makes a groan of protest at that and looks at daringly at not one but two people towering over him now.

“Why the long face? We’ll leave you alone after you give us some money, you have plenty to spare after all!”

He doesn’t really, in terms of personal wealth right now, it’s all directed towards his tuition, not really existing in a state in which he can simply pull it out of his wallet and hand over. What money he does have in his wallet, Tony needs to eat quite frankly, he’s not really wanting to go dumpster diving even if the sting of hunger has convinced him to do it more than once, but he’s not that bad off compared to some people, he will be rich again, and he doesn’t need to take from those less fortuned than him.

His silence in a way is a rebellion considering how he always runs his mouth.

“You’re going to make this difficult?”

Tony rolled his eyes, by difficult it probably means they’re just going to beat him and steal what little money he has left anyways, but they probably could have done that to begin with. So in truth, what does it really matter?

He can survive this.

Tony didn’t think he’d survive being cut off and only barely having enough to get through college but he has so far, so he can survive this. He can return back to his home and lick his wounds and show up in class the next day with a lie about how he got into a fight because it’s trendy.

Or whatever rich person thing he needs to say to keep his persona of wealth afloat.

Nothing to his surprise actually happens, one moment there’s hands reaching towards him and unintentionally he closes his eyes rather than keeping them open in defiance because he is scared even if he’s attempting to make a stand in his own, and the next moment they’re not.

There is however sounds of surprise, and then impacts from what Tony thinks is someone getting hit, but it’s not him who’s getting hit so he’s confused. Tony opens his eyes to find the bearded man who always looked a bit unkempt and taciturn from a distance fending off the would be robbers, who wisely decided after not being able to get a single hit in to run away with their tails between their legs.

He blinks once, twice and turns at the bearded man who is finally looking at him now.

His eyes are blue and beautiful, and despite the somewhat haggard appearance, Tony feels like if he wasn’t already on his ass, he would have been swooning.

A hand is offered, and he is briskly picked up off the ground as if he is weightless. Tony knows he’s lost a bit of weight since his change in life circumstances but it doesn’t seem to have been that much to pick him up as if he was just a couple of grapes!

“You’re really strong.” Tony muttered, his mind is racing because that level of strength there seems to be something unnatural about it, or is there at all and that’s just the shock of the situation running through him? “I mean, thanks for that.”

“Are you okay?” The eyes look at him full of concern, and glancing over his figure as if to check and Tony wonders how anyone thought this man was a threat to anyone else but bullies with how soft he is.

“I’m fine. Are you? I’m not the one who got into a brawl.”

“They, ah, weren’t very good at fighting.”

Tony has to admit he feels a little miffed at getting knocked around by incompetent goons, it’s not that he wanted to get his ass kicked, but he had expected people to come after him to have a higher level of competence.

“You’re staying at that rundown building, right?”

“Yes.” Tony doesn’t deny it because he really doesn’t think this man is a threat. “Never could find out where you stayed.”

“Around.” Which is a deliberately vague answer which only makes Tony all the more curious. “I can walk you back and make sure you don’t get into anymore trouble.”

“That would be nice.” Tony admits, even if it does make him think like he’s getting walked home by a gentleman after a date not that he’s ever dated a gentleman before and this person is clearly a few years older than him. “What’s your name? I’m Tony.”

“Steve.”

“Steve, you know the other people around here were warning me about you? That you were dangerous?”

“I might be.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Nah, you’re not. You wouldn’t have saved me if you had bad intentions, you’re a good man, Steve.”

Steve stills for a moment, but continues walking the next and just ignores that as if Tony didn’t say anything at all. “What happened that you ended up like this?”

“You only get to unlock my backstory, if you tell me yours.” Tony grins and sends Steve his most beautiful smile in hopes of learning a little bit more about him.

Tony wonders if Steve was just as curious about Tony who kept looking into him.

He hopes it’s a mutual interest.


End file.
